For this update, I think I’ll make an efficient use of existing resources (can you tell I’m a quick learner?) by pasting an email I sent to 32 Florida cities that summarizes the research I turned into the CDD Director, Marshall McCrary, on June 30:
“…. I was asked to prepare a comparative analysis for the purpose of developing a policy that the city could follow in accepting and processing requests to the commission for fee waivers.
A general email was drafted to over 50 Florida cities. The email generally inquired about the types of fee waiver your city granted, if any, and the policy available to process fee waiver requests. To date, 32 cities have replied.
With your assistance I was able to collect the attached information using online resources, email and phone interviews.
Please note that most of my comments and recommendations have been deleted from the packet. However, the raw data is available for all to review. The responses are organized in alphabetical order, but do not show the cities that responded post the June 30 2008 submission date. Instead, those cities can be seen on the attached spreadsheet. Finally, in addition to more specific recommendations based on the policies collected, the document at the end of the packet was used to propose the following to Fernandina Beach:
In order to process requests from not for profit organizations that directly benefit city residents, Fernandina Beach should move to adopt an application similar to that of Leeseburg, Virginia’s land development application. It has been formatted to fit what I think would be an appropriate application for Fernandina Beach to begin using to supplement staff memos explaining the request, the cost, the options available to the commission per code, and actions that the commission has taken in the past for similar fee waiver requests.
A formal policy has not yet been drafted for Fernandina Beach. Thank you all for your contributions. You have made my research a huge success!”